Floor-polishing attachment for vacuum cleaners



Jan. as, 1929. 1,697,918

W. L. KEEFER FLOOR POLISHING A'TTACHMENTTOR VACUUM CLEANERS Filed May28, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 8, 1929. 1,697,918

w. L. KEEPER V FLOOR POLISHING ATTACHMENT FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Filed May28, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 8, 1929.

UNITED STATES WALTER L. KEEFER, OF CHAMBERSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA. I

FLOOR-POLISHING ATTACHMENT FOR vacuum CLEANERS.

. v] Application filed May 28, 1925. Serial No. 33,480.

My invention relates to improvements in machines for polishing floors,and the present disclosure thereof is directed to one whlch produces thepolishing action by applying fluid wax to the floor by means of arotating brush.

It is the primary object of the lnvention to provide a simple andcompact attachment for the suction head of a vacuum cleaner, saidattachment comprising a polishing head adapted to be detachabl securedto said suction head-when the or inary suction nozzle has been removedtherefrom, said polishing head having a floor polisher provided withdriving means for detachable engagement with a driven part on thesuction head, said driven part being preferably the fan shaft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fioorpolishing head ofthe character set forth, in which the driving means for the floorpolisher includes a driving element located within the confines of acoupling portion of the head, which coupling portion is adapted to besecured to the suction head of the vacuum cleaner, in place of theremoved suction nozzle, said driving element then detachably engaging adriven part on said suction head.

A further object is to provide a floor polishing attachment applicableto a suction head in which the fan shaft is exposed-at the eye of thefan casing, and to operatively connect the drivin means for the polisherwith said fan shaft, by passing an element of said driving means throughsaid eye.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for closingthe eye of the. fan casing when the polishing attachment is applied,thus permitting the fan of the suction head to spin idly withpractically no resistance in said fan casing, so that the usua drivingmotor will not be overloaded.

Yet another object is to provide unique inter-engaging coupling membersfor connecting the diving means of the floor polisher with the fan shaftor the like, said coupling members being brought into co-operativerelation by attachment of the polishing head to the suction head, novelprovision being made whereby these coupling members will properlyinter-engage with .each other upon relative turning, should-they notcompletely engage when applying the polishing head to the suction head.

In the preferred form of construction, the floor polishing member iscarried by a tubular driven shaft, and fluid wax or oil is supplied tothis shaft by a tubular discharge shaft of a cup which is detachablymounted on the polishlng head, and a further object is to make uniqueprovision for operatively connecting the two tubular shafts when the cupis attached to the head.

With the foregoing and minor objects in view, the invention resides inthe novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, thedescription being supplemented by the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the polishing head attached to thesuction head of a vacuum cleaner in place of the removed suction nozzle.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the vacuum cleaner with the suctionnozzle attached.

Figure 3'is a to plan view of-the suction head and the polis ing headoperatively con-- nected with each other, the wax or oil cup beingremoved.

Figure 4 is a central vertical longitudinal sectlonal view as indicatedby line 44 of Fi 3.

Figure 5 is a detail longitudinal sectional view through the drivingconnection between the fan shaft and the drivin means for the floorpolisher, as indicated y line 55 of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a similar view through the connecting means between thetubular discharge shaft of the oil or wax cup and the tubular carryingshaft of the floor polisher, taken on line 66 of Fig. 4. i

In the drawings above briefly described, S designates the suction headof a vacuum cleaner, and NY has reference to'a suction nozzle detachablycoupled to said suction head, while I indicates a polish-ing headadapted to be detachably coupled to said suction head when said nozzleis removed. The present invention resides in the-polishing head and itsassociation with the suction head, and while a suction head of oneparticular type has been shown, and the details of the polishing headdesigned accordingly, it is to be. understood that'the invention is notrestricted to use in connection with any par ticular form of suctionhead, as it may be made to co-operate efiectively with suction heads ofnumerous constructions.

The suction head herein shown, comprises a vertically disposed'fan'casing C having an 'eye'E in its front side and'provided with arearwardly extending outlet 0 discharging into a dustbag B, said outletbeing disposed over an electric motor M which is directly coupled to thefan shaft -FS. The suction head is provided with an-appropriate handle Hand supporting wheels W, and at its front end, it is preferably equippedwith an adjustable shoe 8 to support said front end when interchangingthe polishing head and the nozzle. The art designated V in Figs. 3 and 4is a curve vane from the fan casing G into the outlet 0 to assist indirectin dust and the likefrom' the former into the latter.

For detachably-connecting the nozzle N to I the casing, G, the frontside of this casing has been provided with forwardly projecting .studs Cfor reception in openings 1n the rear end of thenozzle, and suitableclam ing devices D are shown for holding the nozz e in place. These sameclamping devices and studs are utilized in connectingthe polishing headP with the suction head of the cleaner, when the nozzle Nis removed, aswill hereinafter become apparent, and the drivin means for the floorpolishing member of sai polishing head, is then operatively engaged withthe fan shaft FS, to be driven b the latter, said olishing member beingindicated at 1 in the rawings and being preferabl in the form of a softbrush.

he polishing head P, in the construction shown, comprises a hollow bodyportion 2 enlarged at its lower end as indicated at 3 and.

provided with a downwardly projectin skirt 4 which surrounds thepolishing member 1,.

the rear end of said hollow body 2 being .closed, in the presentshowing, by a 'plate ,5

which closes the eye E against entrance of air when the head Pis'applied to the suction head S. The rear end of the body 2 is formedwith openings 6 to receive the studs C, and is provided with a flange orother desired means 7 to co-operate with the clamping devices D, so thatthe olishin head may be 1 quickly and easily app ied to t e suctionhead, in lace of the suction nozzle N. a

he bod 2 is by preference provided with a removab e bottom plate 8secured in place by screws or the like 9 and carrying an n wardprojection 10 which is disposed within sald body 2. This projection 10isvertically bored as at 11 to receive a tubular shaft 12 whose lowerend carries the polishing member 1, said shaft being mounted in a proriate ball bearings or the like 13, and i desired a coded rin 14 may beprovided to exert a leldab e ad usting pressure on the bearin s.

- t is through the tubular shaft 12 that t e fluid wax or oil to beapplied to the floor, is fed, as will be hereinafter explained, and thisshaft is also rotated to drive the polishing member 1. In the presentshowing, a gear 15 1s keyed to the shaft 12 and meshes with a pinion 16on a short vertical shaft 17 which is aplproprlately mounted in bearingscarried by e pro ectlon 10. This shaft 17 is provided, in the resentdisclosure, with a worm wheel 18, mes ing with a worm 19 on a horizontalshaft 20 which is rotatably mounted in ball bearings 21, within the.projection 10.

Preferably, the shaft 20 terminates in a rear section 22 universallyconnected to the major portion of said shaft as indicated at 23, saidsection 22 passing through an opening 24 in the, plate 5. Novel meansare provided on the rear end of the shaft section 22 and the front endof the fan shaft FS for operatively connecting them without trouble,when the polishing head P is applied to the suction reception inlongitudinal slots 28 formed in a coupling sleeve 29 which is slidableupon the shaft section 22. Preferably, a pin 30 passes through thisshaft section and has its ends received in the slots 28 to establish adriving connection between the sleeve 29 and said shaft section and tolimit the outward projection of the sleeve 29, under the influence of'acoiled compression spring 31 when the polishin head is detached from thesuction head. freferably, the rear end of the shaft section 22 is shapedabout as shown at 32 in Fi 5, for reception in the socket 25, and said saft portion 32 projects beyond the rear end of the sleeve 29, so thatwhen the polishing head is applied to the suction head, it will beimmediately received in the above-named socket 25. When this takesplace, the lugs 27 may enga e only the rear edge of the sleeve 29,instead 0 seating in the slots 28 thereof, and

if this is the case, the sleeve 29 will' be for- I instrumentality ofthe gearing above de-" scribed, it also rotates the tubular shaft 12, todrive the polishing. member 1, to which fluid wax or oil may besupplied. In the present showing, the olishin fluid is fed to the shaft12 from a eedin evice-33 whose internal construction constitutes no partof the present invention. It is connected however with the body 2, in aunique manner described below, and 1s also operatively coning studs 37to underlie said top, the latter.

preferably having cam surfaces to engage said studs. The edge wall ofthe opening 36' is of course formed with notches 38 through which thesestuds may pass when alined therewith, and after inserting the neck withits studs 37 passing through said notches, turning of the cup 34 willtightly bind it in place.

The feeder 33 includes a tubular, downwardly projecting shaft 39 throughwhich small quantities of the polishing fluid are successivelydischarged when said shaft is rotated. The means for producingthis'discharge of fluid is claimed in my co-pending application SerialNo. 21,395, filed April 7, 1925, and constitutes no part of the presentinvention, but is indicated in a general way in Fig. 4. In this view, 40denotes a rotary feed device on the tubular shaft 39 for feeding thepolishing fluid through a port 40* into said tubular shaft. The lowerend of the shaft 39 is adapted for reception in the upper end ofthetubular shaft 12, as disclosed most clearly in Fig. 6, andself-engaging coupling means are provided on these two shafts, similarto the coupling means above described for connecting'the fan shaft FSwith the shaft sect-ion 22. The details of these coupling means areshown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 6 and they are described below.

A pair of driving lugs 41, on the upper end of the shaft 12, are adaptedfor reception in slots 42 formed in a sleeve 43 which is slidable uponthe shaft 39 and is pressed downwardly by a coiled sprin 44, a pin 45being passed through said shaft 39with its ends received in the slots42. lVhen the lugs 41 are properly seated in the slots 42, they serve todrive the sleeve 43 and the latter in turn drives the shaft 39 throughthe instrumentality of the pin 45. When the feeder 33 is applied tothe'body 2, if the lugs 41 are not immediately received in the slots 42,said slots and lugs will properly interengage with each other as soon asthe machine is started and slight rotation of shaft 12 takes place, withrespect to the shaft 39.

The feeder 33 preferably includes a control valve 46 (Figs. 1 and 4),whereby the discharge of wax, oil, or other polish, may be controlledand entirely cut off if desired.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have produced a rather simpleand inexpensive floor polishing attachment which may be easily appliedto or removed from the suction head of a vacuum cleaner, so as toutilize the motor of the latter for driving the polishing means, andwhile such olishing means is preferably in the form 0 a rotary brush, itmight well be of other form. When a brush is used, as in the presentdisclosure, it is preferably held detachably upon the lower end of theshaft 12, by a thumb nut 47, and said shaft may well be provided with adriving disk 48 having a stud 49 receivable in an opening 50 in thebrush back, as shown in Fig. 4. This arrangement permits the brush to bereadily detached or attached, as occasion may de-- mand.

During the operation of the machlne with the polishing head P attached,said machine is of course rolled to and fro along the floor, by

means of the handle H, and during this manipulation, wax or any otherdesired polishing medium' may be fed down the tubular shaft 6. Thisshaft preferably runs at a s eed of about 490 revolutions per minute, wllch speed is sufficient to cause the polishing agent to be thrown outby centrifugal force from the lower end of said shaft, and it will beseen that the polishing material thus thrown, is caught by the rotarybrush and is by the latter applied directly to the floor. By having thebrush mounted upon a vertical axis, the entire floor-engaging area ofsaid brush is at all times in contact with the floor so that no portionof such area is at any time idle, as would necessarilyfollow if thebrush were mounted upon a horizontal axis. Moreover, I have found thatwith brushes mounted to rotate upon horizontal axes, the effectivepolishing which I obtain,.cannot be attained.

Preferably, the floor to be polished is first coated and partly polishedby means of the improved mechanism and then the supply of wax or thelike is out off and the mere rotation of the brush used to effect thefinal polishing operation. The direct action of th( motor in drivingthis brush is not impaired at all by the presence of the fan F, as theeye E of the fan casing is closed against entranceof air by the plate 5,so that-the fan merely rotates in a void or air hole, instead ofperforming work and overloading the motor. By relieving the motor of theload of the fan, its direct efliciency is utilized to drive the rotarypolishing brush, but as the speed of said motor is approximately 9,000revolutions per minute, it would be impractical to drive the brush atthe same speed. Hence, speed-reducing gearing has been interposedbetween the shafts 20 and 6, reducing the speed of the latter and thebrush to approximately 490 revolutions per minute, which speed issuflicient to obtain the desired result.

While I have shown and described the machine as adapted for applyingwax, oil or other polishing material and treating the floor to'create apolished surface, it will of course be understood that water or acleansing fluid may be supplied through the hollow shaft to the brushfor scrubbing or otherwise treatin the floor or other surface.

i' xcellent results are obtainable from the 'eneral constructiondisclosed, and it is therefore preferably followed, but within the scopeof the invention as claimed, numerous mod1- fications may be made, andas above stated, the polishing attachment may be made to cooperate withsuction heads of vacuum cleaners, other than the particular style hereindisclosed. n

I claim 1. Floor treating equipment for a vacuum cleaner body,comprising a head having means whereby it ma be detachably coupled endof said shaft and receiving liquid therefrom, liquid supply meansdischarging into" the upper end of said shaft and actuated by thelatter, and driving means for said shaft, said-driving means having aportion whereby it may be detachably coupled to a driven 'part of thecleaner body. a

3, In combination with the motor part of a vacuum cleaner having adetachable suction nozzle; a floor waxing device substituted for saidsuction nozzle and detachably secured in place, said device embodyingboth wax-feeding means and wax-spreadin means driven by the motor ofsaid vacuumc eaner.

4. A floor treating attachment for application to the suction head of avacuum cleaner when the suction nozzle thereof is removed; saidattachment comprising a head provided with a con ling portion forconnection with a the part 0 the suction head previously connected tothe removed suction nozzle, said head having a floor engaging brushmounted for rotation about a vertical axis, and driving means for saidbrush having a coupling sin coumember substantially surrounde b; plingportion of sald head and .a apted for detachable engagement with adriven art of the vacuum cleaner suction head, said rivi means includinga tubular shaft carrying 'sai brush and dis osed at the axis ther'eo,and means carried y said head and communicating with said tubular shaftfor supplying a floor treating fluid to the interior of said tubularshaft to vbe conducted by the latter to said brush. a

5. A floor polishing attachment for application to the suction head of avacuum cleaner when the suction nozzle of the latter is removed, saidattachment comprising a hollow head provided with a rearwardly exposedcoupling portion for detachable connection with the part of the suctionhead previously connectedto the removed suction nozzle, a horizontalshaft rotatably mounted in said hollow head and having its rear endortion surrounded b said coupling portion t ereof, said rear en portionof said shaft having coupling means instrumental in connecting it withthe. driven fan shaft of the vacuum cleaner suction head, a tubularvertical shaft rotatably mounted in said hollow head andv having a floorpolishing brush at its lower end, reducing earing in said hollow headfor driving the tu ular vertical shaft from the horizontal shaft, andmeans carried by said hollow head for feeding a floor polishing fluid tothe interior of said tubular vertical shaft to be conducted by thelatter to said brush.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.

WALTER L. KEEFER.

